The natural system started off strong, but the navy finally reached its peak!

The sergeant unconsciously took a half step back, his Adam's apple bobbing laboredly.

"But Brigadier General Gern, orders from headquarters clearly state that no one may fly without a high-ranking officer present..."

"So what?" Gern suddenly interrupted, a chilling smile appearing on his face. "Do you think I'd obey orders from headquarters?"

Faced with Gern's decisiveness, the sergeant sighed, "Reporting to Brigadier General Gern, unidentified pirates have been spotted ahead. Request permission to destroy them!!"

"Really good!"

Gern's gaze pierced David in the distance like a sharp sword, and the scene of their brief encounter flashed through his mind.

"In that case, pass on the order." Gern's voice suddenly became unusually calm, yet it sent a chill down everyone's spine.

"All ships are on combat readiness." Gern paused, then added...

"Remember, keep your artillery fire away from Elephant Lord. When that guy gets angry... he's much more terrifying than Lion."

"Yes!!!"

........

On the pirate ship, David stood like a sculpture at the bow, the gilded tip of his golden spear rhythmically tapping the deck, producing a clear "ding, ding" sound.

At the same time, his narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and his gaze, like that of a venomous snake, locked onto Gern in the distance using his Observation Haki, while a cruel smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Captain David, should we just..." A pirate had barely opened his mouth to ask when his companion tugged at his sleeve.

"Shh—" the older pirate whispered, "The captain is 'timering'."

The repairman elegantly toyed with the silver pocket watch, the watch chain gleaming coldly between his fingers.

Suddenly, his sinister smile froze, and the pocket watch cover snapped shut with a sharp "snap"!

"Time's up, death knell—" Before the words were finished, David's figure had already turned into a blur.

The golden spear drew a perfect arc in his hand, and as the spear blossomed, a blinding flash of light burst from the muzzle.

"Sound the gong!!"

The deafening gunshots ripped through the calm of the sea like the tolling of a bell; the specially made seastone bullets were imbued with Armament Haki.

It shot through the air at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, heading straight for Gern's brow!

This shot was so fast that even the sound couldn't catch up with the bullet; it was David's signature move—"Instant Kill"!

Chapter 74 The Death Knell at Sea

"Clang!!" A piercing metallic clang rang out.

David's seastone bullet, coated with Armament Haki, was caught in Gern's hand. A wave of air erupted from his palm, sparks flew, and it eventually turned to dust.

"Blocked...blocked it?" a pirate stammered, his voice filled with disbelief.

"You caught my 'Instant Prison Sniper' with your bare hands?" David's smile froze for a moment, and his pupils contracted slightly.

Immediately afterwards, his fingers unconsciously rubbed the trigger of the golden spear, but soon his expression relaxed again.

Because Gern did not retaliate for a long time.

"Heh..." David, who thought that Gern was worried about the "Flying Pirates" and "Golden Lion", smiled again, his smile was even brighter than before, and even had a bit of a crazy meaning.

He slowly raised the barrel of his gun, pointed the muzzle at Gern's direction, and drew out the sound.

"Oh dear~ Why isn't Lord Tianzhen making a move?"

He even deliberately tilted his ear, making an exaggerated listening gesture: "Could it be... you're scared?"

On the warship, Gern slowly lowered his hand, his brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

He turned to the sergeant beside him and asked in a low voice, "Has this guy always been this brave?"

The sergeant looked bewildered and shook his head: "I don't know either, but he seems... to completely disregard you."

Seeing this, David laughed even more unrestrainedly.

He put one hand on his hip, slung the golden spear over his shoulder, and waved his other hand exaggeratedly: "Hey, hey, hey! No way?"

"A man who 'shattered the sky' doesn't even have the courage to shoot me?"

He suddenly flung his coat aside, revealing the Flying Pirates' flag emblem embroidered on his chest.

"Did you see that clearly? That's the banner of Admiral Golden Lion!" David grinned maliciously.

"I'm telling you, go ahead and do it! Your life or death is up to fate, hahaha!"

On the deck of the warship, the naval soldiers' fists clenched so tightly they cracked, but Gern remained silent.

David's smile grew increasingly sinister.

"What's wrong? Got a mute?" He deliberately tapped his temple with the muzzle of the gun. "Or... do you actually know everything?"

Was he just incredibly lucky to have managed to injure the admiral back then?

David then suddenly lowered his voice, his tone turning cold, "Kid, do you really think you can challenge the Flying Pirates just because you got a reputation through sneak attacks?"

The sea breeze suddenly calmed down.

Gern finally raised his head, his eyes eerily calm.

"Finished?"

"What?" David was taken aback, then burst into laughter: "Finally managed to squeeze out a sentence?"

“David, do you know why I haven’t made a move yet?” Gern slowly raised his right hand, palm up, and white vibrating particles silently condensed.

David scoffed: "Scared, huh!"

“No, I’m just a little curious.” Gern sighed, turning his gaze back to David, his tone flat.

"Because you're just a sniper who can barely be considered proficient in Observation Haki."

They have neither a Devil Fruit nor physical skills to compensate for their weaknesses.

"The bounty of 1.09 billion Berries is at least half thanks to Shiki the Golden Lion." Gurn's voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to the pirate ship.

David's smile faltered slightly, but he quickly regained his arrogant demeanor: "Hmph, stop bluffing!"

Back in G-3, you were just a guy hiding behind Zeff!

“And now the most important thing is…” Gern’s five fingers suddenly clenched!

"You actually dare to provoke someone who can also unleash a tsunami on the vast ocean?"

"So, who's got a death wish? It's so hard to guess!" David's smile froze completely as soon as Gern finished speaking.

It seems he has truly forgotten something very important!

"In short, commendable courage." Gern shook his head, too lazy to waste any more words with him.

He slowly raised his hand, palm facing up, and white vibrating particles began to condense in his palm, causing the surrounding air to shatter.

"Since you're so eager to die, then I'll grant your wish."

On the pirate ship, David's smile finally vanished completely, replaced by a hint of panic.

"Fire! Fire at full power!" he roared, firing his golden spear in rapid succession, bullets and shells raining down like a storm.

However, it was too late.

Gern compressed the vibrating particles into an energy circle with his right hand and then punched it directly at David's pirate ship, causing a sea tremor.

In an instant, the air shattered! The next moment, the entire sea area seemed to be lifted up by an invisible giant hand, and towering waves spread wildly outward from the warship as the center.

The waves instantly rose over a hundred meters high, forming a wall of water that crashed down on the pirate ship.

"Damn it!!!" David's pupils suddenly contracted. His bullets were as insignificant as ants in the face of the giant wave and were swallowed up in an instant.

The pirate ship groaned under the onslaught of the giant waves, and its hull began to disintegrate.

"Run!!" the pirates screamed in terror, but in this sea dominated by tremors, they had nowhere to escape.

The moment the giant wave crashed down, the pirate ship was torn to shreds as if it were made of paper.

David's figure suddenly rose from the ground, his coat drawing a dazzling arc in the sunlight.

He charged straight up using moonwalking techniques, his golden spear twirling and flashing deadly patterns in his hands.

This was the sniper's last desperate gamble.

"Sorry, this isn't land, and you haven't eaten the Instant Fruit."

Guern's hands had somehow become pistol-like, and the pale particles dancing at his fingertips twisted the air into spiraling ripples.

“Furthermore, when a sniper's Observation Haki is weaker than the opponent's…” He tilted his head slightly, a cold smile curving his lips.

"That means you have no other options! Besides... it's on a vast ocean with no landing point."

"You're right, aren't you, David?!"

"Bang!" With a sound mimicking a sigh, ten spiral shockwaves tore through the sky.

David's pupils suddenly contracted as the pale rays, wrapped in high-frequency vibrations, pierced directly through his body!

"Pfft!" David heard the cracking sound of his collarbone breaking as the first shockwave pierced through his right shoulder.

Next came the left knee, right wrist, lumbar spine... every joint exploded with blood under the precise particle shooting.

In an instant, David's body, like a puppet controlled by invisible threads, convulsed and twisted strangely in the air with the vibration rays.

"This...is...Heavenly Tremor..." The golden spear slipped from his convulsing fingers.

The exquisite carvings on the gun barrel gleamed one last time in the sunlight before being swallowed up by the greedy waves.

David watched as his spurting blood drew a poignant arc in the clear blue sky.

I suddenly recalled a drunken remark I made at a banquet many years ago:

The reason I don't fight Newgate is not only because I can't beat him, but also because he provoked the Tremor-Tremor Fruit on the high seas.

I can fly, no problem, but you guys... well... you can only jump into the sea and feed the fish...

"Ha, now the same goes for Tianzhen! Damn natural type."

Before his last breath faded, he heard Gern's murmur carried on the wind: "The bell tolls for you."

........

After the waves subsided, only wreckage and a few struggling pirates remained on the sea.

Gern stood at the bow of the warship, his gaze sweeping coldly over everything.

"It's over," he said calmly.

"Brigadier General Gern," the sergeant swallowed hard, and asked cautiously, "Should we...should we capture the survivors?"

Gern shook his head: "No need, he won't survive." With that, he turned and walked toward the cabin, as if what had just happened was nothing more than a trivial matter.

The warship slowly sailed away from the area, leaving behind only broken wreckage and a gradually calming sea.

Chapter 75 The Hairy Principality

The azure sea rippled beneath the elephant's feet, and a massive shadow loomed over Gern's warship, as if a moving landmass lay before it.

Standing at the bow of the warship, Gern looked up at the colossal elephant that was as majestic as a mountain, and for the first time felt a profound sense of awe.

Because of its immense size, Zulu's every movement is completely undetectable to ordinary people.

It appears motionless, but in reality, it has never stopped...

"Is this Ganesha?" Gern stood at the bow of the ship, gazing up at the towering behemoth that seemed to reach into the clouds, a look of awe flashing in his eyes.

Ganesha's limbs are like towering pillars, and the flowing seawater stirs up towering waves. Its skin is covered with the wrinkles of time, as if recording thousands of years of history.

The sergeant, standing beside Gern, was equally stunned by the sight before him.

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly: "Brigadier General Gern, do you think there really is a country on the back of this elephant...?"

Gern nodded, his gaze still fixed on the towering back of the elephant: "The Furry Duchy, a secluded kingdom."

The sailors on the warship looked at each other, excited to have learned about and witnessed an unknown country, but also regretful that they could not go there in person.

"Brigadier General Guern, if there really are countries up there, then they certainly aren't members of the World Government," the sergeant hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Won't it be too dangerous for you to go up alone?"